It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster ride for Google recently and it seems the company wants to attract positive attention today, with a series of announcements that we’ll share with you here. The first one is its Caffeine indexing system that we’ve looked at in an earlier post.
Google Maps Navigation Extends To 11 More Countries
The company’s web powered GPS navigation system based on Google Maps has now been rolled out locally (i.e. in the language of the place) in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.
The service is available for users of Android devices 1.6 and higher, it said.
Draw on a map and get results within that area.
Yahoo has a new iPhone app that rocks. It’s a map and you can draw on an area of the map and get local biz results for just the area you’ve circled (or whatever crazy shape you make up).
The idea behind the app is to reduce typing. But the search filters feel limited. Generally, apps like this update over time, so hopefully even more robust search will be included in the future.
It’s free and available in the iTunes App Store.
If your NCAA March Madness brackets are as messed up as mine, you’ll need a distraction this weekend.
So, catch up with these search stories from the week that just didn’t make it into their own post.
Google Analytics is now integrated into the Microsoft Silverlight framework. They also announced they are developing a global, browser-based opt-out plugin.
Google Commerce Search added advanced synonym options.
Google Android has added Gesture Search to versions 1.6 or higher.
Yahoo! is acquiring CitizenSports.com.
AOL is expanding their local efforts.
MapQuest adds “Search Along Your Route” functionality to its mobile version.
The move expands Yahoo!’s partnership with Telefonica’s global presence.
Since 2007, Yahoo! has provided mobile search Telefonica’s portals in Latin America, the UK and Ireland. Now, they will provide mobile search for the telco in Spain.
Yahoo! will also provide search advertising as part of the deal.
Yahoo! has over 80 mobile partnerships with carriers and device manufacturers. Another major partnership they have in Europe is with 02 in Germany. That partnership was launched in November 2009.
The real estate search engine expands mobile app access.
Zillow launched its iPhone app nearly a year ago and it’s been wildly successful. Now, they’re giving Android users the same easy access to real estate info.
“It’s clear that people want access to all of Zillow’s data and information like Zestimates, listing information, and prior sale price while they are out looking at homes or exploring neighborhoods. We saw this as a great opportunity to be on a platform with enormous potential for real estate and home shopping,” Spencer Rascoff, Zillow chief operating officer.
A couple of updates to one of the most popular mapping products.
MapQuest has two updates for you to enjoy. One is greater access to version 2.0 of their mobile offering. Now, 40 of the most trafficked devices have access.
Included in MapQuest Mobile 2.0:
- My Places
- Direction
- Maps
- Live Traffic
- Find Me
- Local Search
Meanwhile, the other nifty new feature is the ability to link to 360 View. You may remember that 360 View is MapQuest’s answer to Google’s Street View.
Find out what’s in stock nearby.
Ever go to pick up something at a store and they’re out. No problem, just go to another store or another location of the same chain. But they don’t have it either. Annoying.
Google wants to help you save time (and frustration) by showing you what’s in stock where.
While you’re out, simply go to google.com on your mobile phone. Click the “More” tab and select “Shopping.” Do your search thang.
A list of results will come up – look for a blue dot with either “In stocky nearby” or “Limited availability.” Click the link and find out which store has what you’re looking for.
A top mobile service harnesses its strengths to compete in the mobile ad space.
WHERE is a mobile application (both downloadable and mobile web) that focuses on local search and recommendations. This week, WHERE is launching a local/mobile ad network.
WHERE’s goal is to generate relevant ads based on location and context.
“We built WHERE Ads because we wanted to deliver a better advertising experience to our audience.” said Walt Doyle, CEO of WHERE. “Leveraging our unique access to the carrier infrastructure, we are able to deliver hyper-local, contextually relevant content. The result is that we are driving benefit by connecting the consumer and the local merchant. We’re now excited to begin offering this solution to third party publishers.”
Handwrite your way to faster search.
If we’re going to be honest, no one completely loves the process of typing search queries (or typing much of anything) onto a mobile device. The search engines know it – that’s why they include query suggestion features on their mobile apps.
There are also voice search features, barcode scanning apps and experiments with like-image search. Now you can add another nifty search feature to the lineup: gesture search.
Google has introduced the feature as a Labs product for Android. To use the search, you write a letter across the screen. Gestures search will then begin bringing up contacts, apps, bookmarks and music that begin with the letter.
Expansion of feature allows national phone numbers irregardless of user location.
When AdWords brought Click-to-Call to mobile ads a month ago, the idea was to enable local businesses to reach searchers on-the-go. Now, the feature is being extended to national advertisers who wish to use a primary number.
For example, let’s say you’re searching for a car rental and an ad from a national chain pops up in your mobile search. Perhaps they want to funnel all calls through a single number. Now, they can do so with Click-to-Call mobile ads in AdWords.
